Brussels, 10/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Indonesian government and the European Commission have decided to proceed with formal negotiations towards the conclusion of a voluntary partnership agreement, which will provide assurance that Indonesian forest products imported to the EU are legal.
The decision was taken in Brussels on 8 January during a meeting between M.S. Kaban, Minister of Forestry of Indonesia, Development Commissioner Louis Michel, and Stavros Dimas, his counterpart responsible for the environment. They aim to implement the Community Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) action plan, which will be used to apply regulation on forestry, governance and trade through voluntary agreements to halt illegal logging and the trade in illegally harvested timber.
Commissioner Dimas underlined that, "Indonesia has played a leading role in placing illegal logging on the international agenda. The EU and Indonesia recognise that, as consumers and producers of tropical timber, we have a joint responsibility to eradicate illegal logging and move towards our shared goal of sustainable forest management".
Minister Kaban stated that, "it is hoped that the final VPA will provide both parties, Indonesia and the EU, with a sound basis for preventing export and import of illegally-harvested timber".
Commissioner Michel concluded by stating that "good governance is fundamental if the benefits of trade in forest products are to be shared by Indonesian society”.
The commitment to proceed with formal negotiations followed a series of informal consultations between Indonesia and the EU over the past year, as well as intensive consultations amongst stakeholders in Indonesia. (an)